The car industry is one of the most competitive in the world, with hundreds of brands vying for your attention and your money. But how many of those brands are actually owned by the same company? The answer is… not many. In fact, there are only 14 companies that own nearly all of the top car brands on the market today. And while it’s good news that there aren’t as many monopoly-style corporations running this industry as you might think, it’s also pretty bad news. Because these 14 companies all have something else in common: they’re all massive polluters who care more about profits than people or planet. Here’s a quick rundown of what we found:
The car industry is a big business. It’s also a complicated one. Over the past few decades, consolidation has led to just a handful of companies owning most of the world’s major automotive brands. Here are some of the most notable examples in the infographic.
These are the companies that own most of the cars we drive today
The companies whose brands are included in this list acquired these brands in a variety of ways. Some, like Ford and Honda, have been around since the early 1900s. Others, like BMW and Hyundai, have only been around for a few decades. There are also newer entrants into the industry that have quickly become major players: Tesla was founded just over 20 years ago, and it now has over 500 retail locations across North America and Europe.
With so many different companies involved in the automotive industry today, it’s easy to see how they’ve all grown over time. For example: At one point there were only two major car manufacturers (Ford and GM) who controlled 80% of market share; today those two companies control less than 35%. And while new players like Tesla continue to rise up against them (along with other newcomers), these 14 automakers still hold an enormous amount of power when it comes down to deciding how cars will be designed, built and sold throughout any given region or country.
So, what does this all mean? Well, it means that most of the cars we drive today are owned by a small number of companies. And while many people believe buying a car is a personal choice and they can pick whatever they want, in reality some companies have too much power over our transportation choices.
